


The Calm Of Burgundy

by bleedreid



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Dilaudid Reid, Eventual Smut, F/M, Reid is an asshole at first, She is an agent but in a different unit, Slow Burn, the oc has synesthesia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-04 07:11:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 20,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14587737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleedreid/pseuds/bleedreid
Summary: Based off season 2-3 of the CBS show Criminal Minds and the novel Collecting The Dead by Spencer Kope.





	1. Chapter 1

_I know a girl, she puts the color inside of my world._

 

Very pale orange, on the brink of coral. That's the color of the shirt I was holding.

Not the actual color, but its shine.

The shirt was actually navy blue with white horizontal stripes. It belonged to Malcolm Brookes, a 17 year old boy from Florida who went missing on a high school field trip. 

His grade went white water rafting as an end-of-year event. You know, the kind you take during senior year as a way to say goodbye to all your classmates.

Those trips were really bittersweet for me. 

On one hand, you’re leaving high school forever and starting a new chapter in your life and that’s terrifying. On the other hand, you never have to see your childhood bullies again and you get to start fresh.

Well, at least most high school seniors do. I can’t say the same for Malcolm.

As soon as the STU, or the Special Tracking Unit, got called down to Florida to investigate this case, I knew what had happened.

My three-man team is an elite part of the FBI. We specialize in tracking victims down after they've gone missing. We’re good. We always find the body. Sometimes alive, sometimes not.

The STU consists of me, Agent Indiana Hope, our technical analyst, Lilly Rogers, and my superior and the founder of the squad, Agent Ted Rollins. Together we’ve found thousands of missing persons and taken down hundreds of killers. 

Ted came up with the idea of having a section of the FBI specifically for tracking. He designed the team headquarters and everything. 

Lilly does all the computer work. Whenever we need some type of information, we call her and she has it within minutes. 

And then there’s me. I’m sort of the enigma of the group.

I didn’t go through the FBI academy. I didn't even study criminal justice in college. This job sort of fell into my lap one day after I had volunteered for a search and rescue mission in my hometown. A little girl had gone missing at the playground and the locals were forming groups to go look for her. Ted saw the way I carefully studied the ground and wandered into the woods, eventually being the one to find the girl. That was when I first noticed my gift.

I only say ‘gift’ because I feel like if I complain about it, it will somehow be taken away from me. Even though it’s annoying at times, I wouldn't be able to do my job without it.

I see colors.

Not just regular colors, but the colors that come off of people. When someone speaks, the air around them is surrounded by little puffs of smoke. I like to call this a person’s shine. For example, my shine is gold. When I hear myself speaking, I see gold around me. When I look back at where I’ve walked, there are gold footprints on the ground. My dog has it too; his is dark brown.

So when I say that the shirt I was holding was orange, it wasn't actually orange, its shine was.

When I had asked for an article of Malcolm’s clothing, his parents immediately brought me the shirt. They probably thought I was going to have one of the police dogs sniff it and look for Malcolm.

Nope.

As soon as I touched it, I saw the color I was looking for.

Orange.

Okay, I could work with that. It wasn't a common color in the woods or by a river, so it would be easy to spot. As I saw the faint glimmer of Malcolm’s shine in the distance, I dropped the shirt and started following it.

The closer I got, the more footprints I found. Ted was close behind me as I took a left deeper into the forest. The orange footprints continued into the trees, winding and swerving back and forth. This told me one thing; he was drunk when he went missing.  That was something I didn't need to say out loud, though. It wouldn't bring any comfort to his family. 

I kept following the trail of orange until I reached the edge of the forest. Pushing branches out of the way, I took another step and felt the weight of my body shift. Just as I realized that I was at a cliff, Ted’s arm shot out and grabbed me, pulling me back to safety.

“Thanks,” I muttered as I caught my breath on stable ground.

Ted nodded, looking over the edge of the cliff. I did the same, knowing what was down there.

Malcolm.

Ted called the Florida Park Rangers and let them know where to look. The chances of survival after a fall like that were slim to none, so he let them know what to expect.

I tried not to make eye contact with Malcolm’s parents as I made my way back into the black SUV that we drove in to get there. It wasn't my job to inform the family.

“No foul play on this one,” Ted said as he climbed into the drivers seat.

I closed the passenger side door and pulled my seatbelt over my lap.

“I guess not,” I sighed, leaning back in the seat.

Ted put the car in drive and off we went. After five minutes of off-roading, we made it back to the high way. The faint dust of yellow fell in front of me as the car roared from the fast pace. I swatted at it, earning a look from Ted.

Sometimes I forgot that no one else could see the colors that I saw. I mean, maybe there was someone else out there with my gift, but none that I knew of.

The car pulled back into the lobby of the hotel we were staying at. One perk of being in the FBI? All inclusive 5 star hotels wherever we went.

I unbuckled and jumped out of the car, excited to finally sleep. I nodded goodnight to Ted and headed into the lobby. I waited by the elevator, pressing the button a few too many times. The doors opened and I made my way onto it, squeezing past a bellhop. The elevator music started once the doors closed, covering me in mint green. I closed my eyes in an attempt to ignore it.

Once on the fifth floor, I stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hallway to my room. I put the keycard in backwards three times without realizing. On the fourth attempt, the door opened and I made my way inside.

Without changing my clothes or brushing my teeth, I jumped into bed. I was too tired.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was sound asleep.

** Buzz. **

Was that in real life or in my dream?

** Buzz. Buzz. **

Ugh, definitely real life.

I turned over and grabbed my phone off the bedside table. I felt it vibrate in my hand as I tried to adjust my eyes to the bright light of the screen. I didn't recognize the number. I answered anyway, just in case.

“Hello?”

“Agent Hope?” A woman’s voice asked.

“Yep,” I said, trying to stifle a yawn.

“This is SSA Erin Strauss, Section Chief of the BAU,” she gave off her title.

Well, she seemed important.

“Oh, uh, wow, hello ma’am,” I said, trying to act as professional as possible (and failing).

“I’m sorry to call at such an untimely hour, but this can’t wait. The BAU needs help with a case and Agent Rollins said you're the best in your field. We’ll have the jet pick you up on the way.”

“Wai-“ was all I got out before she hung up.


	2. Chapter 2

_Purple haze, all in my brain. Lately things, they don't seem the same._

 

The flight to Virginia was uncomfortable. Chief Strauss had sent a plane down to Florida to pick me up, giving me about two hours to process what was going on.

Why did this section of the FBI get their own private jet? The STU barely even got a car, and we had to beg and plead for that luxury.

What did the letters BAU even stand for? How had they even heard about me? I knew we all fell under categories of the FBI, but each team usually minded their own business. We didn't like to overlap or step on each other's toes.

The pilot on this fancy-ass plane told me there was wifi, so I decided I'd take advantage of it. Pulling out my Macbook, I typed "BAU" into Google.

The first result was 'Business As Usual' which didn't seem right. I knew the U had to stand for unit, at least.

I scrolled down to the second result. 'Behavioral Analysis Unit'.

Hmm.

So it was definitely a real branch of the FBI, but that still didn't answer the question; why did they need me?

I logged into the Bureau's database with my pin code number and searched the members of the BAU. There were seven in total, plus Strauss as the chief.

Digging further, I found their names, ages, ethnicities, and employment history. One thing that struck me as odd was how the youngest member of the team held three PhD's.

It must have been a typo, I thought to myself as the jet started to descend. 

I gulped, realizing this meant I was officially in Quantico and about to get my assignment. I grabbed my cellphone, backpack, and gun before making my way down the stairs and into the building. 

I showed my credentials to the woman working the front desk and was given a lanyard with my name on it.

The secretary stood up from her seat and gestured for me to follow her. I walked a step or two behind her as we made our way to a large steel door.

"A year ago victims and their vehicles disappeared from Washington state. They were found over 200 miles away in the remote woods of Idaho. Courtney Jacobs, 24, and Shane Everett, 25. Autopsy revealed similar entry and exit wounds through the chest," a blonde woman around my age said as I was escorted into a room with a round table and a big TV screen.

From the small amount of research I was able to do on the flight, I figured this had to be Agent Jennifer Jareau, the media liaison of the team. Her voice gave off a robin's egg blue. The color was pretty, just like her.

"Ballistics?" A handsome man asked as he swirled a spoon in his coffee mug.

Derek Morgan. An army green danced around his broad shoulders.

"No bullets were found," Jareau replied.

"Looks like they were out there for a long time before they were killed," the only brunette woman on the team said.

This one was definitely Emily Prentiss. Her shine reminded me of the color you'd grab from the crayon box thinking it was black, only to have it be purple.

"At least 6 or 7 days."

"Then, what happened in that week?" Morgan spoke up again.

"I don't want to know," the other blonde said.

This was clearly the technical analyst, Penelope Garcia. I almost missed the bubblegum pink she gave off because it matched the blouse she was wearing.

"Look at the way they're dressed, they didn't voluntarily go into the woods like that," the tallest of the team said.

Based off his age, I'd guess it was Spencer Reid. His words were velvety, a mix between crimson and purple, almost maroon.

"Yeah, neither did this man. Found yesterday with similar wounds, there's still no ID," Jennifer said as she pushed a button on the remote in her hand. 

An image of the man popped up on the screen. His eyes were glazed over and there was dried blood down his neck.

"Ok, so, I'm gonna look for missing persons in Washington," bubblegum, I mean Garcia, said.

"Look everywhere, we don't know where this victim came from. We only know where he ended up," the oldest of the team said.

His moldy brown shine looked as old as him. Jason Gideon.

"Kills both males and females," the burgundy color chimed in again as Garcia walked away.

"Victims were found with their clothes on, no degradation, no experimentation, doesn't look like he's interested in either," the last member of the team said.

Using process of elimination, I figured this had to be Aaron Hotchner. He was navy blue.

"A serial killer with no sexual preference?" Prentiss suggested.

"That'd be a first," the same burgundy replied again, sarcastically.

"Broken nose and bark is embedded in his face, looks like he ran into a tree..." Hotchner continued, ignoring Reid’s sour attitude.

"Now, how do you miss a huge tree?" Morgan asked.

"Too busy looking behind you," Hotchner offered.

They began speaking quickly, almost as if they didn't know they were thinking aloud. Nobody had noticed my presence yet. Or, if they had, they chose to ignore it.

"None of these are defensive wounds."

"Courtney Jacobs' hands are torn up."

"Shane Everett has only got one shoe on, it's like he ran out of the other one."

"He sustained numerous injuries and just kept going."

"Only one thing you run that hard for," Gideon said quietly, gaining everyones attention.

We all stared at him, waiting for further explanation. He looked up from the file in his hand and into my eyes, the first acknowledgment that I was standing there.

"Your life," he finally finished.

The room fell silent, each of us knowing the truth behind his statement. After a few seconds, Agent Jareau turned to me, extending her hand.

"I'm sorry you didn't get a proper introduction, this case was just sort of thrown at us last minute," she said as I reached my hand out to meet hers.

"No worries," I smiled.

"I'm Jennifer Jareau but please call me JJ," her blue shine invaded me as she spoke.

JJ.

Cute.

"I'm Indiana Hope. You can all call me Ana," I said as I turned to the rest of the team.

They all smiled at me. Forced smiles, but smiles nonetheless.

All except for Dr. Reid.


	3. Chapter 3

_I see  in blue, I see in blue, I see  in blue. Oh, when you see everything in red. _

 

Once again, I found myself back on that fancy jet that had been sent to pick me up. The confined space caused everyone’s shine to swirl together, creating one, big, ugly mess. 

I stayed quiet as the team I would be working for began talking amongst themselves. I took mental notes on each agent’s color. It made it easier to remember names in the long run. 

"Transporting young, fit victims from Washington to Idaho poses huge risks,” Hotchner said, his navy blue shine puffing out over the others.

“Must have a good reason to chance getting pulled over, or have the victims escape,” Jareau, or JJ, said.

Her lighter blue triumphed over the darker blue.

“It says here that every year 100 or so people go missing in Idaho's wilderness. With millions of acres to cover, one third of them are never found,” the burgundy doctor chimed in.

“Sounds like the reason as to why this place,” Prentiss said in her dark purple, almost black tone.

“Well, it offers privacy and the possibility the body will never be recovered,” the oldest man, Gideon, said.

“An area this remote and rugged suggests that the offender is more comfortable in the woods. Something like a second home,” Morgan offered.

I stared at him through the cloud of army green shine surrounding him. He was quite handsome.

“My grandfather retired to the french alps. He lived there until he died. There was a good ten year stretch where he didn't come down off the mountain. He had no running water, no electricity, and his food supplies, everything, all of it came from the land,” Prentiss said.

“You spent a lot of time up there?” JJ asked.

“Yeah, whenever we were in France, which was a lot,” Prentiss replied.

Based off of this interaction, I guessed she had to be on the newer side. Maybe I’d stick with her during the case. We could be on the outskirts of the team together.

As I was profiling the profilers, agent Morgan’s phone began ringing. He answered it and put it on speaker for all of us to hear.

“Guess who's getting a gold star?” Bubblegum pink fogged up through the phone’s speaker.

Agent Garcia, the technical analyst.

“Oh, that'd be you, baby girl, if you got some good news for us,” Morgan said back.

Baby girl?

Were they dating or something?

“Well, I started my missing persons search in Spokane County and wouldn't you know, there's been ten in the last five years, all in their early twenties. And isn't this interesting? It's always in the spring and their cars are never recovered. And fret not, I'm looking for the cars, too,” Garcia informed us. 

“Anything else?” Army green asked.

“Mmm, oh, local P. D. identified the latest victim through dental records. His name's Alex Harrison, he's from Washington,” Garcia said through the phone.

“Where was he last seen?” Hotchner asked.

“Family statements say he was traveling to work in Spokane. And both victims last year were traveling outside of Spokane, too,” Garcia said as we heard her long fingernails tapping against her keyboard. 

“All victims headed to the city,” Morgan said.

“And none of them reached their destination,” Prentiss and her purple hue chimed in.

“Garcia?” Hotchner’s question lingered in the air along with his shine.

“Already on it. There are four major roadways into Spokane, highways 395, 195, and highway 2. There's also interstate 90,” Garcia responded.

“Were there any police reports or roadside assistance calls from those highways?” Prentiss asked.

“You’re going to know that as soon as I do,” Garcia said, ending the call.

The bubblegum pink shine disappeared along with her voice.

“Ok, we've got two locations,” Hotchner announced to all of us.

“I’m happy to go to Idaho. Woods is like your second home, right, Prentiss?” Gideon said in his brown tone.

“Yes, sir,” the purple woman responded

“Hey, Reid, why don't you go to Spokane? I could use the fresh air,” Morgan said, turning to the doctor.

“We’ll touch base every couple of hours,” Hotchner said to everyone again.

“I’ll call you when we get on the mountain,” Gideon said to Hotchner as the plane began to descend. 

I waited for everyone else to get off the jet first before following behind. There were two black SUV’s on the private airport's runway, waiting for us to get in. Gideon, Morgan, and Prentiss all got in one of the SUV’s as JJ and Reid got into the other. 

“I know you specialize in tracking but I’d prefer to have you at the police department with us to construct a profile,” agent Hotchner said, motioning for me to follow him to the SUV JJ and Reid were in. 

“Ok, sir,” I said quietly, following him to the car.

“You can call me Hotch, by the way. Everyone does,” he said as he held the car door open for me.

Hotch.

Did everyone on this team have a nickname?

I nodded as I got into the back of the car next to Reid and buckled my seatbelt. JJ was in the passenger seat while Hotch was driving. 

The four of us sat in silence as we drove to the local police department in Spokane County. The only color in the air was a light dust of yellow from the sound of the tires on the road.

After about a five minute drive, we arrived at the police station. Hotch led the way as we were greeted by the police chief and brought to a separate room to start our investigation.

“You must find a lot of victims with a name like yours,” JJ said to me as we started setting up.

People made jokes about my last name all the time. They thought I should have hope because I’m named Hope.

I don’t have much hope.

After seeing the things I’ve seen, it's hard to have any hope. 

But, JJ didn’t need to know that. The jokes about my name were overused, but she seemed sweet and like she was just trying to make me feel welcomed, so I gave her a tiny smile.

“That’s highly illogical, Jennifer,” Reid said as he pinned a large map to the whiteboard in the front of the room.

“Spence,” JJ shot him a look as if to say ‘be nice’.

Spence.

Another nickname.

“I’m just saying, someone’s name can’t affect how well they perform their job,” Reid said matter-of-factly.

What was this kids problem?

“It was just a joke, Spence,” JJ said in an annoyed tone. 

“Not a very good one,” Reid said under his breath even though it was obvious we could both hear him.

I watched as his burgundy shine fought with JJ’s blue shine in the air. 

JJ looked at me and mouthed the word ‘sorry’. I shrugged. I was used to dealing with assholes.

“Besides, ‘Indiana Hope’,” Reid used his fingers to make air quotations, “sounds like a name Trader Joe’s came up with.”

“Reid, enough,” Hotch ordered as he made his way back into the room.

We hadn’t even come up with a profile yet but I already knew this was going to be a rough fucking case.


	4. Chapter 4

_Let me show you my true colors. It ain't no rainbow._

 

“Just ignore him,” JJ whispered to me as we got back to work.

I nodded silently.

The kid was an asshole, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

“We’ve got two male and one female victim, all about the same age, but from different socio-economic backgrounds. The only thing they seem to have in common is they were traveling to the same city,” Hotch said, breaking the tension in the air and instead replacing it with navy blue.

So, we were back to the case.

Good.

I’d rather be working to take down a serial killer than pretending to socialize with this random group of people I had been thrown into the midst of. 

“And broken bones. There's a hairline fracture in the wrist, a sprained ankle, and a broken nose. Also, early autopsy reports show soft, clean tissue damage and deep puncture wounds through the major organs,” Reid said.

It was peculiar how he could just switch from being broody to being dialed into the investigation. Although, I suppose that’s what they were all trained to do.

“Bullets flare out when they hit the body, it's gotta be something else,” Hotch retorted. 

“Whatever weapon was used cut completely through the front of the chest and went right out of the back. It's interesting, given the point of entry, that each victim has two wounds,” Reid’s burgundy swam around the room.

“And it's always two,” Hotch finished his line of thought.

Two wounds, possibly two suspects, I thought, but kept it to myself. I wasn’t quite ready to dive fully into the case yet. I wasn’t a profiler, after all. I was just a tracking specialist.

“Uh, Raymond Schaeffer. You must be agent Jareau,” a man in a sheriff’s uniform said as he made his way into the room we were in.

His shine was red, but not the same shade as Reid’s. This was almost what an artist would describe as blood orange.

“Nice to meet you,” JJ said, extending her hand to shake his. “This is Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, Dr. Spencer Reid, and Special Agent Indiana Hope,” she said, introducing us one by one.

“Well, I see you're getting settled,” the sheriff stated the obvious.

“Thank you for the space,” Hotch said politely. 

“Well, thank you for flying out.”

“Um, has Alex Harrison's family been notified yet?” JJ asked the sheriff.

“Not yet. Uh, parents were divorced, he lived with his father. I was waiting for your unit to arrive… I could use the company,” the sheriff grimaced softly.

I understood where he was coming from. Informing the family was always the worst part. That’s why I rarely did it. Again, I was just tracking specialist. It wasn’t my job to relay information to the family and friends of the victims.

"I’m happy to come along. Hotch, I'll let you know what I find,” JJ said as she left the room with the sheriff.

I frowned.

There went the only person I was comfortable around.

"Thanks,” Hotch said, looking down at the file on the table.

My internal monologue was telling me to share my thoughts about the case with the two men, but I shut it out. Instead, I made my way over to the table and sat down at the far end.

I flipped through one of the police reports about Alex Harrison. My eyes wandered further down, reading how his is father had been the one to file the missing person’s report. As I finished reading the report, one part struck me as odd. The Harrison family didn’t even live in Idaho. So how the hell did Alex end up in the Boise National Forest?

Just as I was about to piece it together, I was interrupted by an obnoxious black cloud of dust swirling around in front of me.

A phone ringing. Loudly.

“Hotchner. Hold on a second, I'll put you on speaker,” Hotch said as he clicked the speaker button on his phone and set it down on the table in front of us.

Reid sat down in the seat across from me. It took everything in me not to kick him in the shin.

“Hunting season officially opens in three days. Does it look like the victim's wounds could be from an arrow?” Brown smoke puffed out from the phone.

Yes, yes it did.

“Whatever punctured the organs had to be long enough to penetrate the chest and mimic a twenty two caliber bullet, so, yeah, it's possible,” Reid stated what I already knew.

“I think these victims are being caught, taken to the woods, and hunted like wild animals,” Gideon said before hanging up and taking his brown shine with him.

What the hell…

I remembered reading a short story called The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell in high school that was similar to this. A big-game hunter from New York City falls off a yacht and swims to what seems to be an abandoned and isolated island in the Caribbean, where he's hunted by a Russian aristocrat.

The difference here, though, was that that was fiction, and this mostly certainly was not.

“I think we’re looking for two killers,” I finally spoke up. 

“I doubt it. Most criminals don’t work in pairs,” the burgundy shine I was unfortunately getting used to spoke up.

Asshole.

“What makes you think there’s two?” Hotch asked.

I was beginning to like Hotch. He always listened to what I had to say. It was nice to have at least one male counterpart that took me seriously. 

“Both victims have two wounds, could be one for each offender,” I shrugged.

It sounded way stupider when I said it out loud.

“Or the unsub shot them twice,” Reid countered.

I was so sick of this fucking kid.

“Morgan and Prentiss just texted. They found two sets of footprints. They’re the same tread, but they're different sizes,” Hotch read off from his phone.

Two killers!

He began walking out of the police department, wordlessly telling us to follow him.

I smirked as I got up from my seat and followed Hotch out the door and back to the SUV. As childish as it sounds, I was repeating _'I was right and you were wrong'_   to the stupid burgundy doctor over and over again in my head.

I pulled my seatbelt over my waist and buckled it as I watched Reid sulking to the car.


	5. Chapter 5

_I'm chasing all of the colors in my head, I wanna feel alive._

 

On the way to our next location, Hotch called everyone on the team and put them all on speaker so we could go over the profile. I closed my eyes as I listened, not wanting to see all of the different shine’s battling with each other within the interior of the car.

We were looking for at least two offenders in good physical condition because they would have to be fit to make it through this type of terrain. And nobody would go that deep into the woods without backup. Killing teams were like most partnerships, one weak, the other strong. These men hadn't exhibited any sexual interest in their victims, so they were either developmentally prepubescent or they could be related. Immediate relatives wouldn't discuss sexual encounters, let alone perform them in front of each other. If they were related, they were most likely going to have an us-versus-them mentality. Their bond would be unbreakable because it's all they knew.

Most hunters put animals out of their misery. The men we were looking for, they would have never shown any mercy. These guys took pleasure in watching their casualties die a slow death. Every spring for the past five years, people had gone missing. We were beginning to think the killers waited for their prey to migrate through these woods.

Courtney Jacobs, Shane Everett, and Alex Harrison were all healthy, smart adults who survived for days by following their instincts. They found themselves in the middle of nowhere. They were either approached in a way that wasn't threatening, or the offenders waited for a moment of weakness. The perfect time to attack.

These particular hunters were very seasoned. They were very efficient. It was no surprise that they'd chosen their weapon to be a compound bow. It required the utmost precision and it provided them with a challenge every time.

Like the trophy hunter, these men, they planned their killings with care. They decided the type of victims they wanted, how and where they wanted to kill them, and with what weapon. Hunting was their sport. Humans were their targets.

“We have a new victim,” Garcia’s bubblegum hue assaulted me as I opened my eyes.

Great.

“Bobbi Baird. She was going to stay with her mom before a big job interview in Spokane. She was really excited about it. So, when she didn't show up, her mom knew in her gut that something was wrong,” Garcia said through the phone.

Obviously having another victim wasn’t great news, but, it could help out with the tracking part of the case. If Bobbi was still alive and I could get an article of her clothing, I could track her shine through the wilderness and possibly find her or her attackers.

“Use every hunter's instinct in your bodies,” Gideon said through the phone before everyone hung up and went to accomplish their given tasks.

After studying the wounds on our three victims, we narrowed down the exact type of arrow that had to be used to leave those distinct marks. Garcia had compiled a list of hunting stores in Spokane county for us. There were three stores that sold the exact type of arrow we were looking for. When she called the stores and asked about any recent purchases of these arrows, one store owner gave her a description of two brothers who matched our profile perfectly. They paid with a credit card, so Garcia traced their names and found their address and place of work. Their names were Paul and John Mulford. She gave us the address to their towing company headquarters. Hotch, Reid, and I were to look at the service station for them while Prentiss, Morgan, and Gideon continued looking out in the woods. JJ was still at the police station trying to comfort Bobbi’s mother as best as she could.

“It's still not open, how convenient,” Reid’s burgundy shine released itself from the car as he opened the door.

“Let's take a look around,” Hotch instructed as I hopped out of the back seat and followed the two men.

Both had their guns out and at the ready. I took mine out too, staying a few steps behind Reid. If those psychos were in the building and started shooting arrows at us, I could use Reid as a human shield. I wouldn’t mind watching him get shot (Not fatally, though. I'm not a monster.).

Hotch got to the front door first and looked behind to us. He nodded and counted down from three before thrusting the door open. He aimed his gun inside and surveyed the area, Reid and I close behind.

Nothing.

No one was there.

“It’s clear,” Hotch said as he pulled on a chain and opened up the rusty garage door that led to the car workshop.

Reid and I followed him into the garage, looking around for anything interesting. There was a car with a tarp over it, so Reid grabbed it and slid it off.

It was a red mustang.

“It's a mustang,” Reid announced.

Gee, thanks, we didn’t know...

“Bobbi Baird’s mother said she owned a mustang, right?” Hotch asked.

“Same make and model,” I answered quietly.

“These are definitely our guys.”

Hotch took out his phone to call Gideon again. I listened to his navy blue voice as he informed them of our discovery. Bobbi had definitely been abducted by John and Paul Mulford. The question was; was she still alive?


	6. Chapter 6

_Orange amber in the sun, s hining till the day is done. I remember long ago, standing in that orange world._
    
    
      
    
    

Garcia had given us the address of the Mulford brothers house. Hotch, Reid, and I drove the short distance across Spokane to the destination.

JJ was already there when we arrived. She had left Bobbi’s mother with Sheriff Schaeffer so that he could bring her to the auto body shop and hopefully positively ID the mustang.

JJ greeted us with a small wave before Hotch took the lead. He walked up to the front door and peered inside. When he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, he turned to JJ, Reid, and me. 

He glanced at each of us to make sure we were all ready. He then took a deep breath and kicked down the front door.

Hotch went in first with the three of us right behind him. As we made our way inside, guns in position, the smell of death invaded my nostrils.

Hotch gave us the clear sign and we lowered our weapons. We already knew it was unlikely for them to be there. They were out in the woods. Most likely hunting Bobbi.

Once I holstered my gun, I looked around for the source of the putrid smell.

There were dead animals everywhere.

On the walls, on the floor, even on the tables.

It was a taxidermists wet dream.

I stayed by JJ as we all began rifling through the Mulford brother’s belongings. We had a search warrant so we could do whatever the hell we wanted.

“Guys, look at this,” Reid said from the back of the house.

JJ and I walked over to where he was standing. There was a row of lockers against one wall. Reid had opened the one on the far left, revealing what looked like an array of pictures stuck to the inside.

As I took a step forward, I realized they were, in fact, pictures. Specifically, they were pictures from people’s licenses.

I knew what they were. They were trophies.

Each license had an individual shine fading away on it. That was the owner's shine. But, on top of each one, was another, more prominent shine. There was an orange layer of dust on every single one of them.

I put my face inches away from the locker, gaining a look from the burgundy doctor. I ignored him, studying the shine on the licenses.

What I hadn’t noticed at first glance was that the orange dust was actually made up of two colors. They were so similar in shade that they looked like one.

Over the years, I’d learned that when people were related by blood, their shine was usually the same color. The tints may vary slightly, but if a woman has a blue shine, her biological children will all have some type of blue shine as well.

The Mulford brothers both had an orange shine. I suppose that made sense because orange was the color hunter’s wore. With this information, I could easily track them down in the wilderness. Their footprints would stand out like a like a porcupine in a nudist colony.

The black sound of a phone ringing caused me to step back from the locker. I glanced at JJ and Reid who were both staring at me. I shrugged.

“Paul and John Mulford, twenty six and twenty two, were orphaned as toddlers,” Garcia’s pink voice exploded out of Hotch’s phone as he answered it.

“Abandonment issues,” Hotch stated.

“State kept them together by finding their only living relative, their uncle. He raised his nephews completely off the grid. They never went to school,” Garcia continued.

“No socialization other than the patrons of the station,” Reid’s burgundy said.

“He was drafted in 1968. He was only eighteen years old,” JJ’s much prettier shine puffed out above the others.

“He was relieved from duty two years later, reports of hallucinations and delusions,” Garcia’s pink swirled with JJ’s blue, creating a cotton candy cloud.

“The boys were raised with no social compass by the only relative they ever knew,” Reid’s burgundy ruined the pretty atmosphere.

I bet he was raised similarly.

“A psychotic possessed with bizarre beliefs, who taught them how to hunt and who to kill. Look at this,” Hotch said, holding up a picture frame to the three of us.

It was a framed photo of two young boys, maybe eight or nine years old, holding compound bows that were bigger than them.

“They’ve been hunting in those woods their whole lives.”

“I… I think I can track them,” I spoke up.

My gold shine mixed with the other four. It looked odd to me, mainly because I rarely saw my own shine. I didn’t like to talk, especially around so many people.

But, I had to face my fears because an innocent life was at stake.

“You do?” Hotch asked.

“I’ve been doing this for a while now. I think I have enough information to find them,” I said.

“How?” Reid asked.

I wanted to tell him to do his own job and I’d do mine, but that seemed unnecessary. Instead, I chose my words carefully before replying.

“I just do,” I said bluntly.

That was enough for Hotch because he began walking out the front door. JJ and I followed with Reid a few steps behind.

We all piled into the black SUV and called Gideon and the others to let them know we were on our way. Hotch turned the sirens on and started speeding to the Boise National Forest.

I closed my eyes to shut out all of the other colors around me and focus on the important one.

Orange.

Orange.

Orange.

I was looking for orange. One shade was dark as hell, almost red. The other was lighter, kind of like a peach color.

I wasn’t sure which brother had which colored shine, but that didn’t matter.

All that mattered was that I was looking for orange.


	7. Chapter 7

_Colors are where my old meets new, colors are where my brain finds blue._

 

As soon as we arrived, we all jumped out of the car and made out way into the wilderness. Gideon met us at the front of one of the trails, accompanied by a female park ranger. There were creatures out there that were far more dangerous than the Mulford brothers, so we needed an experienced guide to help us out.

“This is agent Morgan, go for Gideon,” the ranger’s radio went off.

Its shine was similar to a phone ringing, but not quite the same. It was more gray than black.

“Gideon here, where are you?” Gideon’s brown shine replaced Morgan’s army green.

“We followed the tracks for several miles and now we can see something in the distance. Can you get to higher ground?” Morgan asked.

We all scurried up the nearest hill, looking out over the tree tops.

“You see it?” Morgan asked again.

“Smoke,” Gideon said.

I looked to him to see where he was looking. I followed his eyes out across the forest and saw smoke coming up from what was most likely a fire.

For once, everyone could see the same smoke that I saw.

The park ranger led the way as we all formed a single file line. It was best to follow in her exact footsteps because she knew where the most suitable paths were.

With Hotch bringing up the rear, we began walking in the direction of the smoke. The ranger and I walked delicately through the tall grass and uneven terrain because we were used to being out in the woods. Hotch, Gideon, JJ, and Reid, however, stumbled over every rock and twig in sight.

We made it to a clearing and took a break to catch our breaths. We were moving somewhat fast. We wanted to get to the source of the smoke quickly, in case Bobbi had been the one to start it.

“There’s Emily and Morgan,” JJ said, pointing a few yards ahead of us.

Emily turned around and noticed us as well. She tapped Morgan on the shoulder and motioned towards our direction before jogging over to us.

“There's a man lying next to the fire,” Emily whispered to us once she was close enough.

“Could just be a couple campers,” the ranger suggested.

“Let's be prepared if it isn’t,” Gideon instructed, taking his gun out.

We each did the same before following him slowly over to the man and the fire.

“FBI!” Morgan announced as we surrounded the man laying on the ground.

“He's covered in blood,” Emily said, lowering her weapon.

Gideon crouched down beside him and put one hand on the back of his head to prop him up. He put the other hand on his neck, checking for a pulse.

“We gotta get him out of here,” Gideon said.

“I'll call for an evac,” the ranger replied before taking out her radio.

“Son, can you hear me? My name's Jason Gideon, we're with the FBI. We're gonna get you out of here, okay?”

The man was conscious but didn’t respond. He had blood dripping from his mouth.

“Can you hear me?” Gideon asked.

The man nodded.

“Are you here alone?” Gideon asked.

The man pointed to an area behind where Morgan was standing. We all turned our heads, noticing another body. Morgan and Emily raised their weapons again and jogged over to it.

I waited by the fire with the rest of the team. I watched as Morgan crouched down by the body and put his hand on their neck. After a second, he looked up to Emily and shook his head.

“It's a woman,” Emily announced as the two made their way back over to us.

“She was shot with an arrow,” Morgan said. 

"There's a compound bow about twenty five feet away from the body,” Emily’s purple said.

The man laying on the ground near the fire let out a small whimper, causing my eyes to widen. This was the first sound he had made since we had arrived.

And the sound was orange.

The exact orange I was looking for.

“What?” Reid asked, noticing the way I had reacted to the man’s whimper.

How was I suppose to explain this? I couldn’t just say ‘oh yeah, that man just cried out in orange so I know he’s actually not a victim, he’s the bad guy.’

I thought back to the police reports I had read at the station. All of the victims had wounds straight through the chest.

I looked down at the orange man. He had a visible wound in his stomach.

“The other victims were shot in the chest area. This guy has wounds in his lower abdomen,” I said back.

“You don't think he was shot with an arrow?” JJ's blue chimed in.

“It looks like he was stabbed,” I said, looking down at the peachy orange coming off of him as he cried out in pain.

Gideon heard our conversation and nodded along with what I said. He walked back over to the man and crouched down beside him again.

“Son, are the men who did this to you still in the woods?” He asked.

The man whimpered again.

I studied the color. It was the lighter of the two I had seen at the Mulford’s house.

“We have a team of FBI agents looking for them. They've got an order to shoot if necessary,” Gideon informed him.

I knew where he was going with this.

“No! No, no, no!” The man on the ground finally spoke.

"It's ok, you're safe here,” Gideon’s brown mixed with the orange, creating a Halloween atmosphere. 

“Don't shoot him, he’s all I have,” the orange man begged.

“Is your brother out there?”

The man nodded.

“What's your name?”

“Johnny,” he whimpered.

So Paul was the darker orange of the two.

"Johnny, you need to tell us where Paul is before it's too late. Just tell me where he is,” Gideon said.

“About half a mile due East,” Johnny croaked out as the blood in his mouth spilled out.

“Let's go,” Morgan said to Emily.

The two of them made their way East to go find Paul and hopefully Bobbi as the rest of us stayed by the fire and waited for the medical team to arrive. 


	8. Chapter 8

_I guess that’s why they call it the blues._

 

Morgan and Emily had been forced into a tough situation. Paul hadn’t lowered his weapon when they ordered him to, forcing them to shoot and kill him. 

Johnny had succumbed to his injuries as well. He had died out in the woods, whimpering in Gideon's arms.

Even though they were serial killers, it was always better to bring them in alive. That way, they could be prosecuted and pay the price of their crimes.

However, killing Paul and letting Johnny pass was better than nothing. Bobbi had survived, and that was all that mattered. She was the epitome of a woman who never gave up.

Once we cleaned the forest of the numerous bodies scattered across it, we headed back to the police station and said our goodbyes. Sheriff Schaeffer thanked us at least ten times before finally allowing us to leave.

By the time we got on the jet, it was past midnight. Reid, JJ, Emily, and Morgan were all knocked out immediately, sleeping on the couches in the back of the aircraft.

I stayed awake, sitting by myself at one of the tables. Ever since I was young, I could never fall asleep in a moving vehicle. The light dust of yellow that arose when a car or plane began moving made it difficult for me to relax enough to let my body rest. I needed complete silence to be able to sleep.

Hotch and Gideon sat at a different table, scribbling away at a stack of papers. I figured they had paper work to fill out because they were the two leaders of the team.

I was going to miss them. Both of the older men had been incredibly kind to me throughout the case. They asked for my opinion on certain aspects of the investigation and always listened to what I had to say.

I was going to miss all the girls, as well.

JJ was by far my favorite, mainly because I had spent the most time with her. She seemed like a genuinely caring person. She had also defended me against Reid’s remarks.

Emily was also cool as hell. I didn’t get to spend as much time with her because we were in separate groups during the case, but I really liked her. She was an outsider, just like me.

Even though I had only met Garcia once, I also really liked her. She showed more personality than the entire team combined, and she did it all through a phone. She reminded me so much of my own technical analyst back at the STU.

I wasn’t necessarily going to miss Morgan, but I was going to miss looking at him. I hadn’t really gotten to know him enough to miss him. But, he was handsome as hell. It was always nice to have some type of eye candy to help with the stress of a case, so I envied the rest of the team for that. 

And then there was Reid.

I wasn’t going to miss him. He was a narcissistic asshole with a God complex. He was smart, but that didn’t mean he could treat people like they were beneath him. Maybe he was nicer when he wasn’t under the pressure of finding a serial killer, but I didn’t care to find out. I was happy to finally be getting out of Quantico and away from the burgundy doctor.

As I reminisced on the short few days I spent with the BAU, the jet began to descend. The flight from Idaho back to Virginia had been five hours long.

Once the jet came to a full stop, Hotch woke up the four sleeping agents in the back. I yawned as I got up from my seat and collected the few things I had brought with me. All seven of us walked in silence as we made our way into the BAU headquarters. We were all exhausted. Truly and utterly exhausted. But, we all had to fill out some last minute reports about the case before we could go home. Or, for me, back to the hotel I was staying at until I got a flight back home.

“Strauss wants to see you,” Hotch’s navy blue invaded by sleep-filled eyes.

I nodded and headed in the direction where I knew her office was. It was across the bullpen and up the stairs.

I walked lazily up the fews steps to her office and knocked lightly on the door twice before letting myself in.

“Agent Hope,” Strauss greeted from behind her desk.

Her shine was an elegant magenta. It fit the older woman quite nicely.

“You wanted to see me?” I half asked, half stated.

“I just wanted to let you know that Agent Gideon and Agent Hotch had glowing reports about you. You did good work out there, Indiana,” Strauss beamed at me.

This couldn’t have waited until the morning?

“Thank you, ma’am,” I said as politely as I could muster.

She nodded to me and I took that as a signal that I could go. She probably noticed how exhausted I was.

I turned around and let myself out of her office. I looked out over the bullpen. Everyone had already left.

I made my way down the stairs and onto the main floor. I swerved through desk and go-bags to get to the main entrance of the BAU.

As I was making my way through the furniture, the heel of my boot got caught on the strap of some type of bag.

I stumbled slightly before catching myself on the edge of a desk. I looked down at what I had tripped on and noticed the contents of the bag all over the floor.

“Shit,” my gold shine whispered to itself as I crouched down to pick up the mess I had made.

I grabbed the bag off the floor and held it open with one hand. It was a brown bag with one strap, sort of like a laptop case or a messenger bag.

As I held the bag with one hand, I used the other to grab at the things I had caused to spill. I picked up a few pens and pencils before grabbing an ID badge.

I turned the badge over and saw that it was Reid’s.

Of course it was.

I threw the badge into the bag and continued picking up. There were at least three different packets of sour patch kids on the ground.

My hand went to grab the last item that I had dropped. I picked up what looked like a prescription bottle with clear liquid inside. I turned it over in my palm, reading the label.

“Dilaudid…” I whispered to myself before stuffing it into Reid’s bag.


	9. Chapter 9

_Lord knows where my mind is taking me, I see crystal chandeliers and burgundy._

 

I made it back to my hotel room across the street from the BAU headquarters within minutes. I got ready for bed as quickly as possible before flinging myself onto the mattress and letting my mind wander to the incident that had occurred just a few minutes ago.

Reid was a drug addict.

I guess that explained the irritability and agitation he exhibited the entire time I had been working for the BAU. However, Dilaudid was an odd drug of choice.

In my mind, I had two options. I could either do what I was technically suppose to do as an FBI agent and report my findings to the bureau. Doing so would most likely ruin Reid’s career as an agent and make the chances of him getting clean even slimmer, but it was my obligation to report it.

Or, I could do what I would hope someone would do for me, and let it go.

I turned over onto my side and looked at the time. It was almost 8:00 AM. I sighed before getting up and walking to the bathroom. There was no way I was going to get any sleep, not with my mind racing about Reid’s addiction.

I turned on the shower and climbed in. The water was freezing but my body didn’t seem to notice. I was too busy weighing the two options in my head.

Reid wasn’t my favorite person in the world, but I knew what the job could do to people. He had demons, just like the rest of us. Some people made peace with their sorrows while others turned to alternative methods of coping. It wouldn’t be right to judge Reid for how he decided to battle those demons.

He was a smart man. There was no doubt in my mind that he knew he was going to have to stop sooner or later. If I decided not to report him, I would be giving him the opportunity to get clean on his own instead of being forced into it.

I knew all too well how difficult it was to force someone to get help. I had experienced it with my father. He wasn’t a drug addict, but he had needed help with his own issues.

My father had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s when I was fifteen. He told my mom and I that he would be fine and he didn’t need any special treatment. We had insisted that he at least look into an in-home health care program, but he had refused.

One day, while I was helping my younger sister with her homework at the kitchen table, my mom had been cooking dinner for the family. She asked my dad for help reaching something out of the top cupboard. When my dad didn’t respond, she tapped him lightly on the shoulder to get his attention.

My dad was having an episode and didn’t recognize my mom. He began attacking her. Viciously. He had no idea where he was or who he was. My mom had called out to me as she was getting the shit beat out of her, begging me to get my sister out of there and call the police.

Since that day, my dad has lived in an assisted living home, which he checked himself into. It took him losing complete control to realize he needed help.

So, I knew how difficult it was to force someone to get help.

I washed and conditioned my hair in the cold stream of water before stepping out of the shower. I wrapped a towel around myself and wiped the mirror clean of fog. I stared at myself in the mirror for a minute.

Was I really going to do this?

Was I going to risk my career just for some punk doctor I didn’t even like?

Yes, yes I was.

I dried my body with the towel before picking out an outfit to wear for the day. I had to stop by the BAU quickly to drop off my temporary badge and say goodbye to the few people I had met before heading to the Quantico airport.

I put on a pinstripe suit and a pair of two inch heels before checking myself out in the mirror on the back of the bathroom door. The suit made me look badass, which was what I wanted the team to remember me as.

I packed up my suitcase and looked around the hotel room one last time to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. I made my way into the hall and dragged my suitcase to the elevator. The mint green sound of elevator music accompanied me on the way down to the lobby.

Instead of taking a cab across the street to the BAU headquarters, I decided to walk. It was always nice to get a little exercise.

The sun was shining as I pulled my suitcase behind me over the crosswalk in the middle of the street. A few birds began chirping, causing me to smile. It was a beautiful day in Virginia.

I got to the front door of the building and made my way inside. The lady at the front desk of the BAU section recognized me and smiled. I smiled back.

She asked if I wanted to leave my suitcase behind her desk while I said my goodbyes to the team, so I did.

I walked down to the bullpen, humming the small melody that the birds had been chirping outside.

As I got to the group of desks that I knew belonged to the BAU members, I noticed all of them standing in a circle around Reid’s desk. I walked over to them and saw the look of pure anguish on all of their faces.

“What’s going on?” I whispered to JJ once I got to the crowd of people.

“W-we… We just got a call,” JJ stumbled over her words. “Jason was found dead in his house this morning,” she finished, her voice shaking.

Jason?

I knew that was someone’s first name but I couldn’t remember. I only memorized their last names and their colors.

I looked around the circle at the mourning agents. JJ, Prentiss, and Garcia were all there obviously. On Garcia’s left was Morgan, so it wasn’t him.

Reid was in the middle. His eyes were red and puffy, but he was alive.

I looked up at the last person standing in the circle. It was Hotch.

Jason was…

“Gideon?” I mumbled as I felt my face begin to dampen with tears.


	10. Chapter 10

_Throughout the night, no need to fight. Never a frown with golden brown._

 

The door to Strauss’ office opening caused all of us to look up at her through our tear-filled eyes. She walked down the small flight of steps and over to us.

“Briefing room, now,” Strauss ordered.

Her eyes were slightly red. She had been crying as well.

Reid got up first and took off towards the briefing room without a word. The rest of us followed behind him, our whimpers and sniffles causing a tornado of colors around the room.

I sat down in a seat in the back of the room next to Garcia. I was obviously upset by the news of Gideon’s death, but I felt like I was intruding by being there when the news was so fresh. Some of these people had been working with him for years. It had to hurt so much worse for them.

“As I’m sure you all know,” Strauss began, surveying the room of crying adults, “Agent Gideon was found dead in his home last night.”

Garcia let out a sob from beside me. I took her hand in mine and squeezed it gently.

“The medical examiner found a single boat-tail bullet in his head,” Strauss said, causing Garcia to squeeze my hand tighter.

“He was sniped?” Morgan’s army green asked.

“Looks like it,” Strauss answered glumly.

“So Gideon’s murderer probably never even stepped foot inside his house,” Hotch said from the front of the room.

“But why? Why him?” Emily asked.

“I don’t know, but there’s been a hit put on all of you,” Strauss said bluntly.

What?

I looked up at Strauss and raised an eyebrow. She made eye contact with me and answered my question before I could even ask it.

“Even you, Agent Hope.”

I wasn’t even a part of the team. Why would someone put a hit on me?

“So someone’s trying to kill us and they picked Gideon to start with?” JJ said through blue colored tears.

Strauss nodded.

We all sat in silence for a moment, trying to process what was happening. Not only had we just lost a member of the team, but now we were all in danger.

“As of this moment, you’re all under protective custody. Nobody leaves this building. In fact, I don’t want any of you leaving this floor. That’s an order. Your families have been notified and will be taken to a safe house. So get comfortable because I’m not losing another one of you,” Strauss said before walking out of the briefing room.

Well, there went my flight home. The FBI had better reimburse me for all of the travel expenses.

I looked around the room at the six other people sitting at the table. I watched their eyes wander from person to person as everyone seemed to be doing the same thing.

“I’m scared,” Garcia finally spoke up, releasing my hand from her grip.

She stood up and walked over to one of the windows. She opened it up slightly and tried to fan the cool air onto her face.

“Stay away from the windows, baby girl,” Morgan said as he rushed over to her and slammed the window shut.

“He’s right. If Gideon was killed by a sniper, we all need to stay away from any exposed openings,” Emily’s purple agreed with Morgan’s green.

“I’m too young to die!” Garcia burst out into an even bigger fit of sobs.

“No one’s gonna die. I won’t let it happen,” Morgan cooed to her as he rubbed her back and led her back to the table.

“Someone already has,” Reid finally spoke.

His words were icy. They were filled with hurt and anger.

“You know what I meant, kid,” Morgan replied.

“Don’t panic, guys, that’s what the unsub wants,” Hotch tried to calm the team down.

We all nodded in agreement with Hotch and his navy blue shine. If we panicked, we could be putting ourselves in even more danger. We had to stay calm, cool, and collected. And, most importantly, we had to stay together.

“I could call my unit,” I offered. “Maybe they could help us out.”

“Us? You’re not a part of this team. You barely even knew Gideon,” Reid’s burgundy stabbed into me like a knife.

Don’t do it, Indiana. Don’t retaliate. You know why he’s acting like this. Be patient with him.

“She’s just trying to help, Spence,” JJ snapped at him.

“And she’s right. We can use all the help we can get,” Hotch interjected as he shot a disappointed look at Reid.

Reid rolled his eyes before leaning back in his seat.

I ignored him and took out my cellphone. I dialed the phone number to the STU and pressed send.

“Ana!!” I heard my technical analyst, Lily, screech through the phone as soon as she answered.

Her shine was a blush pink. When I said Garcia had reminded me of her, I wasn’t kidding.

“Hey, Lil, is Ted there?” I asked in a less-than-cheery voice.

We used first names at the STU, something that seemed foreign to the members of the BAU.

She knew by the tone of my voice that I was calling for something serious, so she didn't hesitate to help me out. Within seconds, I was being transferred to my superior’s phone line.

“Ana?” Ted asked through the phone.

His royal blue shine filled me with the tiniest bit of comfort as I left the briefing room and walked to a more private area. I sat down in the corner of the bullpen and began explaining the situation at hand to him.

I told him about how the case I had been asked to assist on went well and how we had found the victim alive. I told him about all of the new people I had met and how their team worked differently than ours. I even told him about who had been nice to me and who hadn’t.

Then, I got to the grim details of what had happened to Gideon. Ted listened quietly as I spoke, giving only a few ‘mhmm’s’ here and there to let me know he was listening.

Once I finished, I took a deep breath. There had been so much to tell him that I had forgotten to breathe in between sentences.

“We’re on our way,” Ted said before hanging up on me.

Ted, Lily, and I were like that. We said few words to each other, but they always meant a lot. Sometimes we could communicate with each other without even speaking.


	11. Chapter 11

_The rest of the world was black and white, but we were in screaming color._

 

After speaking to Ted on the phone, I made my way back to the briefing room to inform the team that the STU was on their way. As I got closer to the entrance, I heard someone say my name. I paused by the door and listened.

“I don’t know how she’s in the FBI, she didn’t even go to the academy. For all we know, she could be the one who murdered Gideon,” I heard a voice say through the door.

I didn’t need to see the burgundy shine seeping through the doorframe to know that it was Reid who was talking.

“We barely know anything about her,” he continued his rant.

Yeah, because I liked to keep to myself. I didn’t realize that made me a serial killer.

“That’s enough, Reid,” Hotch snapped at him.

I heard silence. I guessed that everyone was sitting still and waiting to see if Hotch would scream at Reid or not.

“I don’t know what your problem has been lately, but you’re gonna have to figure it out before I suspend you,” Hotch said.

I heard the sound of someone getting up from their chair and taking a few loud, angry steps towards me. I backed away just in time to not be hit by the door swinging open.

Reid stormed past me and out of the briefing room. He made his way to his desk in the center of the bullpen and slouched down in the chair. He stared blankly ahead at his computer screen, visibly upset.

I hesitated in place, not sure of what to do.

Normally, I’d just say screw him and go back to the briefing room where people were actually kind to me. But, given the delicate situation, I figured it was at least worth a shot to ask him what was wrong.

He didn’t deserve my help. Like, at all. But I wasn’t the type of person to just let things go. He was going through something and I was the only person who knew about it. I felt obligated to at least check up on him.

I took a deep breath before making my way over to where the burgundy doctor was. I sat down at the desk next to his and studied him. He didn’t seem to notice my presence. Or, if he had, he chose to ignore it.

“Hey,” I said quietly, trying not to startle him.

Reid looked up at me, confusion taking over his features. He stared at me for a few seconds before turning his head back to the blank computer screen.

“Are you okay?” I asked after he didn’t respond.

“Why would you ask that?” Reid asked defensively.

“I don’t know, I just thought maybe you needed someone to talk to,” I offered tentatively.

“Well, I don’t,” he huffed in response.

“If I had just lost a close friend I would want someone to talk to about it-“

“Yeah, well, the world doesn’t revolve around you,” Reid snapped back.

Asshole.

“Yours seems to!” I finally lost my cool.

“What the hell does that mean?” Reid asked as he finally turned his head back to look at me.

“You think I haven’t noticed the way you always talk shit about me when I leave the room? Just two seconds ago I heard you saying that I could be Gideon’s killer!” I screamed at him as I got up from my seat and began to storm away. “God, I don’t know why I even tried.”

“Okay, that was an exaggeration. But I don’t like new people just jumping into the team and acting like they own the place!” Reid screamed back.

When did I act like I owned the place? He was so damn infuriating.

“Yeah, well I don’t like covering for a drug-addicted colleague who I don’t even fucking like,” I spat at him.

Damn it.

I didn’t mean to say that. He had just pushed me so far….

“What?” Reid gulped, his voice quieter now.

“You heard me,” I said, crossing my arms against my chest.

Now that it was out, I wasn’t going to stand down.

“You went through my stuff?” Reid asked as his hands shot to his messenger bag.

That was the part he was worried about?

“Your shit fell all over the floor last night when I was leaving,” I said as I walked closer to him so no one else could hear us.

For once, Reid was at a loss for words. He openedand closed his mouth several times as if he wanted to say something but couldn't find the right words. After a minute, he finally collected himself enough to speak.

“I… I was kidnapped by a serial killer with multiple personalties. His name was Tobias Hankel. He tortured me and drugged me over the course of two days. He recorded it and the rest of the team was forced to watch. I developed an addiction to the narcotic painkiller Dilaudid and-“

“I’m not gonna tell anyone,” I cut him off mid sentence.

Reid looked up at me, his eyes wide with panic. He studied my face to see if I was fucking with him.

“You’re not?” He whispered, his burgundy shine only a glimmer of dust.

“No, but you have to promise me something,” I said softly, trying to cool down from the argument we had just had.

Reid nodded and waited for me to inform him of my demands.

“You have to promise me you’ll get clean. I’ll help you if you want, but either way, you need to stop,” I said sternly.

Reid pondered what I had said. He slowly put his hand out in front of me.

“Deal,” Reid nodded.

My hand met his and clasped around it before shaking slowly. His touch was cold, sending small shivers through my body. I looked up at the cloud of burgundy and gold we had created. The two colors didn’t look too bad together.


	12. Chapter 12

_ I think of the life and glory you hold, you remind me of gold. _

 

After Reid and I made our secret pact to get him clean, we made our way back to the briefing room where the rest of the team was. I let him walk in a few steps before I did so it didn’t look like we had been speaking.

I wanted to protect Reid’s secret as best as I could. If I were to walk through the door side by side with him, people would get suspicious. It was obvious I didn’t enjoy his presence, so to have such a sudden change of heart would confuse the others.

While I was in the bullpen making my phone call, Strauss had delivered army cots to the briefing room for us. She wasn’t joking when she said we weren’t allowed to leave the building.

As soon as I walked back in, the girls called me over to the back corner of the room where they were setting up their foldable beds. They had an extra cot next to theirs, making a square. I smiled before walking over to them. It was nice to be included.

“This is gonna be like one, big slumber party! We should tell ghost stories and get drunk,” Garcia said as I plopped down onto the empty bed.

“I don’t think we’re allowed to drink on the job,” Emily chuckled.

“Are we actually on the job right now? Aren’t we technically victims?” I asked the three girls.

We all pondered it for a minute. If we were being forced to hide out in the building until Gideon’s killer was caught, we really weren’t working. And if we weren’t working, we were allowed to drink.

“You know, Gideon always kept a bottle of Spanish Burgundy in his office. For special occasions, of course,” JJ said.

Burgundy. Of course.

“Well, I’d consider this a special occasion,” Garcia said before jumping off her cot and grabbing JJ’s hand.

Emily and I laughed as she dragged JJ out of the briefing room to go find the wine. Morgan heard our giggles from across the room and came over to see what was so funny.

“Where are those two going?” Morgan’s green shine surrounded my cot.

Army green around an army cot. Ha.

“JJ knows where Gideon keeps his wine,” Emily answered.

“Kept,” Reid said as he made his way over to the three of us.

“Hmm?” Emily tilted her head in confusion.

“You said she knows where he keeps his wine, as in present tense. The correct term would be _kept_ ,” Reid corrected her, putting emphasis on the last word.

Emily nodded glumly. Talking about Gideon in the past tense was going to take some getting used to.

Morgan sat down on the cot Garcia had set up for herself. He patted the spot next to him, inviting Reid to sit down. Reid stared at the seat for a second before crossing his arms and leaning against the wall instead.

“Sorry you got stuck here with us,” Morgan said, turning to me.

“It’s not that bad,” I shrugged.

Even though I wanted to be on a plane ride home, being quarantined inside the BAU was better than being hunted down by Gideon’s killer. One would except an FBI agent like myself to be tough and unafraid, but I was the opposite. I was very afraid.

“Hopefully it won’t last too long,” Emily smiled lightly.

Now that I knew the STU was on their way, I didn’t really care how long I had to stay in Virginia. The main reason I wanted to go home so bad before was so I could get back to them. They were my people and the STU was my comfort zone.

My army cot was against a wall so I decided to lean back against it. I closed my eyes so I could rest my senses. Being in a confined space with a lot of people was always hard. The different colors clashing with one another made my brain hurt.

I could feel a migraine coming on. The mix of stress, lack of sleep, and close proximity to so many people was making me feel sick.

Having my gift wasn’t always easy. I often got severe migraines from all of the different shines dancing around in front of me. My vision would always go blurry and I wouldn't be able to see straight leading up to the head ache. You know how when people get ocular migraines and they have visual aura symptoms leading up to it? Mine were like that but ten times worse. The vision problems were like the calm before the storm.

The sound of the door opening caused my eyes to jolt open. Garcia was back with a monstrous bottle of wine and a stack of red solo cups. I sat up slightly, hoping that the alcohol would ease my splitting headache.

“Solo cups, really?” Morgan chuckled as he got up from his seat and went to help Garcia, who was juggling the party favors.

“It’s the best we could find!” JJ exclaimed as she brought up the rear behind Garcia.

She had a box in her arms that was filled with snack foods. There were cookies, cupcakes, brownies, chips, pretzels, pudding, and jello all flowing out of the box. And those were only the snacks that were visible to me from across the room.

“I told you it was gonna be like a big slumber party!” Garcia smirked as she set the bottle of wine down on the briefing table.

I glanced at Hotch in the front of the room. I figured he would tell us we shouldn’t be acting like this was a party and that we were all in serious danger. But, to my surprise, I watched his lips turn upwards into a smile.

If Hotch was on board, so was I. I got up from my cot and hurried over to JJ, Morgan, and Garcia who were already pouring the Burgundy into plastic cups. Emily followed behind me and helped unload the snack box.

Once Garcia had poured out seven cups, I grabbed two. I walked to the back of the room where Emily, Morgan, Reid, and I had been talking. Reid was still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Here,” I offered him a cup.

He looked down at it, inspecting the liquid inside.

“It’s wine, not poison,” I tried to joke.

Reid glanced at me and then back at the cup. He slowly put his hand out and grabbed it, causing me to smile. It was stupid, but this small action made me feel like maybe he trusted me, at least a little bit.

“Thanks,” he murmured, his burgundy shine matching the liquid perfectly. 


	13. Chapter 13

_And I can't hide that I've relied on you, like yellow does on blue._

 

We all made a collective decision not to get too drunk. It would be unprofessional to get wasted in front of Strauss. Plus, if something were to happen where we needed to jump into action, impaired judgement due to alcohol probably wouldn’t help. 

At around midnight, the bottle of wine was empty and we were all incredibly tired. The three boys had moved their army cots to the back of the room where the girls and I had already set up. It was a giant cluster of people, but it was kind of cute to all be sleeping next to each other.

Reid had set up his bed next to mine. He didn’t give me a reason why, but I knew.

Throughout the night, I had noticed his mood changing. He started off somewhat friendly, even laughing at a few jokes that were told. He stayed up chatting with all of us, even asking me questions about my work at the STU.

Then, at about 9:00 PM, he started yawning a lot. At first I thought that he was just tired from the stress the situation was causing all of us, but then I noticed the runny nose and teary eyes. I recognized these symptoms immediately.

In my line of work, I see a lot of junkie parents who don’t give a fuck about their children. Their kids will go missing for days and it will go unreported until the child’s school gets involved and contacts authorities. When the STU is called in to track the missing kid, we have to talk to the parents first in order to collect an article of clothing and get a rough idea of where the child might have gone.

I can always tell right away when one of the parents is an addict. Along with the fact that they neglected their child, they have all of the physical signs. Runny nose, teary eyes, constant yawning, increased sweating…

Those are signs of withdrawal. When the junkie parents are being questioned by the FBI, they stop using because they think we won’t notice as long as they aren’t currently high. They start to go through withdrawal while we're there on the case. We don’t care though, we only care about finding their kids.

So I knew what was happening with Reid. He hadn’t expected to be locked up in the BAU overnight so he hadn’t brought any Dilaudid with him. He was going through withdrawal.

As everyone else was falling asleep after a night of partying, I took out my phone and googled opioid withdrawal symptoms. I read various articles and copy and pasted a few things that seemed important into my notes section.

Opioid withdrawal produces both physical side effects that may mimic the flu and psychological symptoms during two distinct phases known as early and late withdrawal. I assumed Reid was in the early withdrawal phase. Along with the runny nose, teary eyes, and yawning, muscle aches, insomnia, agitation, and anxiety were also common during opioid withdrawal.

Basically, Reid was going to be up all night.

And apparently, so was I. There was no way I was going to let him lay awake all night, alone with his thoughts. There was no telling what he would do if he was left without supervision.

I sat up in my cot and looked over at Reid. He was laying down awkwardly and staring up at the ceiling. I tapped his leg lightly and he looked at me. Motioning my hand towards the door to the briefing room, I got up quietly as to not wake the other sleeping agents. I grabbed my bag and tiptoed to the door, opening it slowly so it wouldn’t make any noise. Once on the other side, I made my way over to the same corner I had sat at when I had called Ted and Lily.

A few seconds later, the door to the briefing room opened again, revealing the burgundy doctor. I patted the spot next to me as he walked over to me silently. He sat down but kept his distance, leaving a gap in between the two of us.

“We need to keep you hydrated,” I said as I ruffled through my bag.

Reid watched as I grabbed the 20 Fl Oz blue Gatorade that I knew I had put in there for the flight home. It was still somewhat cold. I also grabbed my travel-size blanket that I always brought with me on long flights. I held the two items out to him.

Reid quickly grabbed the Gatorade and started chugging it. I knew he was going to be incredibly thirsty. Once he finished drinking the entire container, he stared at the blanket in my hands for a moment before looking up at me.

“You’re gonna get the chills soon,” I said, retracting my hand and unfolding the blanket.

I stood up from my seat and stretched the blanket as far as my wingspan would let me before draping it over Reid’s shoulders. He flinched slightly at my touch before relaxing under the soft material.

“You don’t have to do all this, you know,” Reid sighed, his burgundy shine swimming around me as I sat back down.

“I know,” I replied bluntly.

“Then why are you? You know, helping me?” Reid asked.

I looked up at him and we made eye contact for the first time. His pupils were dilated, another sign of withdrawal. But, beyond that, I could see sorrow in his eyes. He was hurting and genuinely wanted to know why someone would want to help him.

“Because,” I started, trying to find the right words to say to him, “I’d want someone to do the same for me,” I said.

It was the truth. If I were in his situation, I’d hope that another agent would take the time out of their day to help me out. This job… This life, was hard. And the only other people who could truly understand the toll it took on you, were other agents. We needed to look out for each other, regardless of the unit we fell under.

“I guess this is where I say thank you,” Reid whispered, the corners of his lips desperately wanting to twitch up into a smile.

My own lips pulled upwards as I smiled enough for the both of us.

“You’re not a free agent anymore, Reid,” I said, patting his back through the blanket.


	14. Chapter 14

_ Trouble in your head now, don’t know what to do. Seems like up is down and red is blue. _

 

**One AM**

I had to run to the vending machine down the hall five times to get more Gatorade for Reid. His favorite was blue, but they ran out after my first two trips, so he had to settle for red. The janitorial staff gave me a few looks as I ran back and forth between the bullpen and the vending machine but I chose to ignore them.  
****

Every time Reid would finish another bottle, his bladder would nearly explode. He’d have to rush to the bathroom to pee, so I’d have to follow him. I knew the chances of him having Dilaudid on him were slim, but I still wanted to be cautious. Since everyone else in the building was asleep, I went into the men's bathroom with him and stood guard.

“Stop staring at my junk,” Reid said as I leaned against the bathroom mirror as I waited for him to finish.

“I’m not you weird-” I began yelling at him before noticing the smile on his face, “ohh.”

I wasn’t used to him joking around. This was actually the first time I had ever heard him use sarcasm. I was beginning to wonder if maybe he just didn’t enjoy humor.

 

**Two AM**

Once the dehydration issue was settled, Reid led me over to his desk where he showed me his secret stash of board games. We started with his favorite first; Candy Land.  
****

“Why do you love this game so much? It’s for children…” I mocked him as I shuffled the cards.

“I love candy and I am a child,” Reid laughed as he set up the board.

I shook my head and laughed along with him. I would never tell him this, but he did sort of remind me of a child. He had to be looked after and given essentials like food and water. It was like I was babysitting my little sister or something.

For every game we played, Reid insisted on being the red piece. During Candy Land, Sorry, and Life, he grabbed the red pawn before I could. I guess it made sense because burgundy is a shade of red.

I settled for the blue piece. The red and blue together reminded me of those 3-D glasses you wear at the movies. Alone, the colors don’t do much. But when you look through the glasses, one eye through each color, your senses are brought to a whole new level.

I hoped that Reid and I could come together and be like 3-D glasses, as cliché as it sounds.

 

**Three AM**

Once Reid grew tired of the board games, he started asking me questions about my life. We went back and forth for a while, sharing stories and secrets. It was like a game of twenty questions, except it didn’t stop at just twenty. It was nice to finally open up to someone on the team.  
****

"Favorite Color?” I asked when it was my turn.

“Red. Yours?" 

"Blue. Have any siblings?” I asked.

“Nope, only child,” Reid smirked. “You?”

“Just a younger sister. Her name is Holland, like the country. I guess my parents had a thing for location names,” I shrugged as I thought about how ridiculous our two names sounded together.

“I’ve always wanted to have a daughter and name her Felicity and then call her City for short,” Reid said, looking down at his feet. “Does that count as a location name?”

I thought about it for a second. A city was a location, it just wasn’t a proper noun. I guessed it could count considering people were named after cities all the time.

“Yeah, that counts,” I said.

We sat in silence for a moment. It was nice to think about the future, mainly because it meant Reid wanted a future for himself. He wanted to recover and live a long and happy life.

“It’s your turn,” Reid spoke up after a minute.

“Oh, right,” I said, pondering my next question. “Does it hurt?” I asked tentatively.

Reid raised an eyebrow at me and then looked to where my eyes were pointed. He looked down at his arm where there were visible track marks.

"It does at first, but you get used to it,” Reid answered honestly.

I nodded sympathetically.

 

**Four AM**

After our question game, the chills started hitting Reid. Hard. I put the blanket around his shoulders again and scrambled around the bullpen looking for something else to keep him warm. There was a Georgetown University sweatshirt under one of the desks so I grabbed it and brought it back to our corner.  
****

“Put this on,” I ordered as I handed him the sweatshirt.

“That’s JJ’s….” He said, looking at it.

I looked down at the sweatshirt again. It had the remnants of her blue shine all over it.

“So?” I asked.

“It’s not gonna fit me!” He whined, his burgundy shine mixing with JJ’s blue.

“Use it as a blanket then,” I said, grabbing it out of his hands and laying it on top of his lap.

He frowned at me pathetically but allowed the sweatshirt to stay. I sat down next to him and put my legs out straight. He took this as a queue to lay down on my lap.

He was shaking violently. Even though it was hot in the room, his body was ice cold. I rubbed his back through the blanket, trying to transfer some heat to him. His body was tense but he seemed to appreciate the gesture.

 

**Five AM**

Once Reid finally stopped shivering, he fell asleep. I was trapped under him and my legs were losing circulation, but I didn’t dare move. There was no way I was going to wake him up.  
****

I sat on the hard floor with the lanky doctor sprawled on top of me, snoring lightly in burgundy puffs. I continued to rub his back gently to keep his body temperature up. As I closed my eyes to try to get some sleep of my own, my stomach kept growling. I had been so focused on keeping Reid hydrated that I had forgotten about food.

As slowly as possible, I lifted Reid’s sleeping body up and scooted out from underneath him. He murmured a few incoherent words before beginning to snore again.

I tiptoed to the same vending machine that I had gotten all the Gatorade from. I only had a few dollars left because Reid’s thirst had drained me of all my cash. I didn’t bring much to begin with because I hadn't planned on getting trapped at the BAU.

I skimmed through the snack selection and decided on a packet of mini Chips Ahoy cookies and a packet of Ritz peanut butter crackers. I figured Reid would want the cookies because he seemed to have a sweet tooth.

As I made my way back to the sleeping doctor, I set the blue packet down next to him. I opened the red packet and began eating the saddest breakfast ever.

 

**Six AM**

I must have fallen asleep at some point after I had finished my crackers because the next thing I knew I was being woken up by Hotch hovering over me.  
****

“Why are you two out here?” He asked as he looked down at Reid and me.

“I, uh, we- we couldn’t sleep,” Reid answered before I could.

I could tell Hotch wasn’t buying it but he decided not to press any further. He instead held his hand out to me and helped me up off the ground. Reid picked himself up, ignoring Hotch’s offer to help him.

“Strauss wants us in the briefing room,” Hotch said before turning to head back to where the rest of the team was.

I nodded and began cleaning up the mess Reid and I had made last night. I folded JJ’s sweatshirt and put it back where I had found it while Reid put all of the board games away. He handed me my blanket back, which I put in my bag.

Reid grabbed the packet of cookies off the ground and tore into them. I laughed as I watched him devour the snack as if he hadn’t eaten in days.

“Thank you,” he said as he finished chewing.

“It’s no problem, you hadn’t eaten in hours,” I shrugged.

“No, not just for these,” Reid said, motioning to the cookies in his hand. “For everything,” he finished.

I smiled at him and nodded lightly. He smiled back; a real, genuine smile. He then led the way back to the bullpen, his burgundy shine swirling around happily and mixing with the morning blue skylight coming through the windows.


	15. Chapter 15

_They point out the colors in you, I see them too. And, boy, I like them._

 

Reid opened the door to the briefing room and let me walk in first. I was about to quietly thank him when I was bombarded with hugs.

“We’ve missed you so much, Ana!!” A familiar voice shrieked as two sets of arms engulfed me.

I couldn’t control the smile that grew on my face as I realized who it was. Lily and Ted must have arrived at the BAU while I was asleep on the floor with Reid.

“I can’t believe you guys are already here!” I said as I hugged them back.

“As soon as Ted told me you were in trouble, I hacked into the system and got us a direct flight here,” Lily smiled as she finally let go and allowed me to breathe.

“Lily….” Ted shot her a look.

Ted didn’t care when we bent the rules to get things done, even if it involved illegal activities. But, we were in front of a bunch of strangers and he didn't want Lily to get in any trouble. Or, at least, they were strangers to Ted.

“I would’ve done the same thing,” Garcia said as she made her way over to the three of us. “Penelope Garcia, nice to meet you. I’ve read so much about you!” She gushed as she put her hand out to Lily.

“Lily Rogers,” Lily introduced herself as she shook her hand, “And I’ve read so much about you!” She giggled as their two pink shines swirled together.

The two of them went to the back of the briefing room where Garcia’s computer was set up. They began speaking in their own little computer language which the rest of us couldn't even begin to comprehend. 

Strauss entered the room holding an evidence bag and the conversations immediately died down. We all gathered around the table in the center of the room and sat down. She opened the bag and emptied the contents onto the table.

I stared down at what had fallen out. It was a single boat-tail bullet. My eyes darted up and down the bullet, taking in four distinct colors. The first color was silver, which was the actual metal of the bullet. The next color was splattered red, which I assumed was dried blood. These were the two colors that all of us could see. Beyond them were two other colors; two different shines.

The first of the two shines was a musty brown, which made my breath hitch in my throat. This was the bullet that had killed Gideon. The second shine was one I didn't recognize. It was a burnt yellow color.

Even though I was the only one who could see Gideon’s brown shine on the bullet, everyone in the room knew what we were looking at. Strauss didn’t need to explain it any further.

“Any leads?” Hotch broke the tense silence that had consumed the room.

“Only that whoever did this is intelligent and calculated. They left behind no trace evidence,” Strauss answered him.

Little did she know, the killer actually had left something behind. His ugly, yellow shine.

“The order of protective custody has been dropped. You’re all free to go home, but be careful out there. The STU has been kind enough to fly out here to help us and they’ll be in Quantico for the next two weeks,” Strauss announced.

“What changed? Why are we suddenly allowed to leave the building?” Morgan’s army green spoke up.

“We don’t believe you are in any immediate danger,” Strauss replied.

“Why’s that?” Emily asked.

“Because, unlike Jason, none of you will be alone. Our profile of the unsub suggests that he won’t strike unless the victim is secluded and their guard is down.”

“Let us help with the case,” Hotch demanded.

“You know I can’t do that, Aaron. You’re all victims in this,” Strauss said sternly before getting up from her seat.

Hotch nodded in defeat as Strauss left the briefing room to let everything sink in. We all stood up from our seats and began packing up our belongings.

Hotch and Ted began murmuring to each other in serious tones. I figured they were having some sort of important chief talk. I sighed and went to the back corner of the room where my army cot was. Even though I hadn’t ended up sleeping on it, my go-bag was still there.

“Ana! Did you hear about the slumber party?” Lily appeared behind my shoulder as I folded the cot back up.

“Slumber party?” I asked, turning around to face her.

“Strauss said she doesn’t want any of you to be alone so Penny and I thought, what better way to stay safe than to have a little get together at her apartment! Girls only, of course,” she beamed at me.

Penny? I knew they would get along but I didn’t expect them to become best friends so fast.

“Sounds fun,” I said as I looked around to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything.

Lily smiled brightly at me before skipping away. I flung my bag over my shoulder and made my way out of the door and into the bullpen. I had left my cellphone charging at Reid’s desk the night before.

As I swerved through the numerous desks on the ground floor, I noticed that Reid was sitting at his. I reached over his shoulder to pull my phone charger out of the side of his computer. My arm brushed lightly against his.

“Girls only slumber party?” Reid asked sarcastically as he noticed my presence.

“Oh god, you heard about that...” I laughed awkwardly.

“Two slumber parties in a row can’t be good for one’s health,” the burgundy doctor quipped.

“Last night was NOT a slumber party,” I scoffed back.

“Well it was sort of a party, and we did end up ‘slumbering’,” Reid used his fingers to make air quotations. 

I shook my head in amusement before whacking him gently on the arm with my phone. He feigned injury for a second before laughing along with me.

I turned to walk away and made it two steps before stopping to turn back to him.

“Hey Reid?” I gained his attention again.

“Hmm?”

“Here, put your number in my phone. You know, in case you need to contact me,” I said as I handed him my cellphone.

Reid took it in his hand gently and looked down at it and then back up to me as if he was deciding whether or not to oblige. After a split second, he nodded quickly and typed his number in. He handed the phone back to me and waved goodbye.

I began walking to the elevator where I saw Lily, Emily, JJ, and Penelope waiting for me. I scurried between the doors just as they were closing and was immediately surrounded my mint green elevator music. I looked down at my phone to make sure Reid hadn’t put in a fake number. The number looked legit. I then looked at the name he had typed in for himself: Spence.


	16. Chapter 16

_I used to dream in black and white, now I see the world in a different light._

 

The five of us arrived at Garcia’s apartment at around 1:00 PM, giving JJ, Emily, Garcia, and myself time to shower and freshen up while Lily started making an early dinner. While she cooked, I helped Garcia blow up two air mattresses that the four of us could share. Garcia’s own bed was in an open room, so all five of us would be in close proximity.

Once Lily was finished cooking, it was 4:00 PM. We sat around Garcia’s kitchen table and ate the Stir Fry that Lily had prepared for us and began making small talk. As I was chewing my last bite, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

 

**From: Spence**

_Officially 24 hours sober._

 

I smiled as I read the text in my head. Twenty-four hours wouldn’t seem like a lot to most people, but for someone going through withdrawal, it was everything. That was a whole freaking day that Reid had managed to survive without Dilaudid.

  
****

**To: Spence**

_Proud._

 

I typed quickly with my thumbs before pressing send and putting my phone back into my pocket. I continued to smile as I took a sip of water out of the glass Garcia had refilled for me.

“Who do you keep texting? Your boyfriend?” Emily asked in a teasing voice as she noticed the smile on my face.

“Ana doesn’t have a boyfriend,” Lily answered for me.

I nodded quickly in agreement with Lily. The last time I had dated someone was long before I landed my job with the FBI.

“I have a friend you should totally go on a date with! He works at the BAU actually,” JJ said, turning to face me with a reassuring smile.

“Oh, I don’t know…” I replied quietly.

“C’mon, you need to put yourself out there!” Garcia beamed as she joined the conversation.

“When’s the last time you even went on a date, Ana? It’ll be good for you!” Lily chimed in.

I sighed as I looked up at the four excited faces in front of me. I knew by now that they weren’t going to give up until I agreed to go on the date.

“Okay, well, what’s his name?” I tried to ease into the idea.

“Agent Anderson!” JJ nearly shrieked when she realized she had won me over.

“Ooh, he’s a cutie!” Garcia exclaimed.

“Does he have a first name?” I asked sarcastically.

“Grant. Grant Anderson,” JJ said, ignoring my sarcasm.

“You guys would make an adorable couple,” Emily beamed at me.

I shrugged as JJ got up from her seat to make a call. I assumed she was calling Anderson to tell him about the date she had just signed him up for.

Garcia and Lily began cleaning up the empty plates and utensils from the table. Emily excused herself to use the bathroom so I sat alone on the couch. Just as I took my phone out of my pocket again, it vibrated in my hand.

 

**From: Spence**

_About to head into my first NA meeting. Wish me luck._  
****

During the overnight stay at the BAU department, Reid and I had found an Narcotics Anonymous group that met once a week in Quantico. After a little persuasion, Reid agreed to give it a shot. He was taking his road to recovery very seriously, which impressed me. I hadn’t expected him to accept my help so quickly. But, then again, sometimes all it takes to push one's self in the right direction is for someone to show that they care.

 

**To: Spence**

_You’ll do great. I can call when you’re done if you need to talk._

 

He didn’t seem like a talk-on-the-phone kind of guy, but I offered it anyway. I figured he’d be fine. I sent the text and stuffed my phone in my pocket again as Emily came back from the bathroom and plopped down on the couch next to me. JJ walked in a step behind her and sat down on the air mattress in front of the couch.

“So, Anderson made reservations at a place in town for tomorrow night at seven,” JJ announced as she lounged on the mattress. 

“Tomorrow?!” I gulped as I sat up straighter.

“He’s really excited to meet you! He said he saw you in the bullpen yesterday and thought you were pretty,” JJ tried to comfort me.

I thought back to the events that had unfolded the day before. I had been too busy trying to take care of Reid and deal with Gideon’s death that I hadn’t noticed anyone else. Or, if I had, I had blocked it from my memory.

“Soo, what are you gonna wear?” Garcia chimed in as she sat down on the air mattress next to JJ.

“Probably the same thing I always wear,” I shrugged as I looked down at the jeans and t-shirt I was wearing.

“No, no, no! You have to dress nicer than that!” Lily said as she pulled up a chair from the kitchen table.

“I have the cutest little black dress that I always wear for first dates. You can borrow it if you’d like. We seem to be about the same size,” Emily suggested.

“And I have the most amazing floral pumps for you to wear that would look beautiful with a simple black dress!” Garcia offered excitedly. 

“And I’ll do your hair!” JJ squealed.

“And you already know I’ll be doing your makeup!” Lily clapped her hands together.

Lily always did my makeup for me for special occasions. I knew how to do basic eyeliner and mascara, but that was about it. Whenever Lily did my makeup for me, I always looked like a totally different person. 

I looked around at the four of them as they waited for my approval. I noticed how nervous I was but I wasn’t sure why. Was it a good nervous or a bad nervous? I guessed there was only one way to find out.

“Okay, okay, fine,” I finally said.

The four girls erupted into squeals of excitement as they began hugging me and throwing out different ideas about how my hair should be done for the date. I tried to hide my smile but it was too difficult. I had four friends who cared deeply about me, and that felt great.


	17. Chapter 17

_Losing him was blue like I’d never known._

 

After coming up with ideas for my date, we all became incredibly bored. Emily had suggested that we watch a movie and we all agreed. Garcia had all the ingredients to make margaritas, so we decided not to watch too good of a movie. If we were partially drunk, we wouldn’t be able to pay attention and we didn’t want to miss out on a good movie. Lily found some bags of microwavable popcorn in Garcia’s kitchen and checked to make sure they hadn’t expired.

Reid had texted me that he had just gotten out of his NA meeting and asked if he could call on his way home. I immediately agreed. I needed to hear his voice because I couldn’t determine through text if it had gone well or not.

I sat anxiously on the couch while JJ and Emily put on The Purge and the other two finished making the popcorn and margaritas. Emily sat in the middle of the couch with JJ on her left and me on her right. Lily and Garcia brought the food and drinks over on a tray and laid down on the air mattresses in front of the TV.

My phone started vibrating and I knew it was Reid calling. I got up from my seat and made up some bullshit excuse about my sister calling. The girls were too focused on the margaritas to care so I stepped outside of Garcia’s apartment and pressed answer on my phone.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hey,” Reid’s burgundy voice spoke through the phone.

Just hearing his voice gave me a small sense of comfort. At this point, we were friends. At least, in my mind we were. So to hear his voice after sending him to what I imagined was a difficult place to be provided me with a certain calmness. 

“How’d it go?” I asked quietly as I looked around the hall to make sure no one was listening.

“It wasn’t as bad as I had expected. I have a question, actually,” Reid said tentatively.

“Hmm?” 

“Would you be willing to like… I don’t know how to ask this,” he sounded flustered. “Will you be my sober coach? Or sober companion, whatever it’s called,” his voice faded in and out as I could tell he was walking home.

I smiled to myself, knowing Reid couldn’t see it. Before, I felt as if I had imposed myself on him and forced him into treatment. This was the first time he had actually specifically asked for my help. It reminded me of something my mom used to tell me as a child.She would say ‘always look for the helpers. If you find helpers, you’ll know that there’s hope’. So for Reid to ask for my help meant that he knew there was hope. 

“Aren’t I already?” I replied, still smiling to myself.

“I guess so,” I could tell from the tone of his voice that he was smiling, too.

“Well, just call me coach then,” I quipped back.

We both laughed quietly at the situation. Just two days ago, we had been enemies. Who would have thought I would end up being Reid’s sober companion for his recovery. 

“You’re a hero, Indie,” Reid spoke softly through the phone.

“Do not call me that,” I scoffed playfully.

I hated when people called me Indie. It sounded so juvenile and, quite honestly, stupid. My dad was the only one who I ever allowed to call me that.

“Okay, okay, sorry.”

“And I’m not a hero, I’m a helper,” I stated.

“Fine, you’re a helper, Indie,” Reid’s chuckled lightly in puffs of burgundy. 

“What did I just say about calling me that!” I raised my voice in feigned annoyance.

“Okay, okay, sorry,” Reid said again.

I sighed deeply into the phone, causing Reid to continue chuckling. His laugh filled the hallway I was in with burgundy shine.

“So, JJ set me up on a date,” I said, deciding to change the subject.

“Oh,” his voice was suddenly drained of laughter. 

“Mhmm.”

“With who?” Reid asked quietly.

“Some guy named Anderson. He works with you apparently,” I relayed the information I was told by JJ and the girls.

“Well, good luck with that,” Reid said in a voice I hadn’t heard since the day we had argued about his addiction.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, feeling the tension in the conversation rising.

“Nothing,” Reid said bluntly. 

“No, really, say it,” I mimicked his angry tone.

I should’ve been used to this by now. Since the day I had met him, Reid always seemed to have drastic mood swings. During the case, he would be arguing one minute and then researching something intensely the next. There was no telling when he was going to snap between anger and friendliness. I guessed that was just another side affect of addiction.

“I just don’t know why you’d go on a date when you’re only gonna be here for two more weeks,” Reid finally said.

“Well, first of all,” my anger began to grow, “I can do whatever I want,” I stated coldly. 

“Yeah-“

“And second of all,” I cut him off, “Why do you even care?”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. I looked down at my phone to see if he had hung up on me. He hadn’t, so I put the phone back up to my ear.

“You’re right. I don’t care,” Reid said angrily before hanging up.

Along with Reid’s voice, the calm of burgundy left the hallway. I stared down at my phone, dumbfounded by how the conversation had taken such a drastic turn.


	18. Chapter 18

_Missing him was dark grey all alone._

 

The rest of the night at Garcia’s was uneventful. Reid had stopped texting me following our awkward phone call. I replayed our conversation back in my head, trying to figure out if I had said something wrong. I couldn’t think of anything that would make him react in that way. That’s how withdrawal works, though. Mood swings and erratic behavior were common symptoms.

We finished The Purge and immediately knocked out. None of us had gotten much sleep over the course of the past week. JJ, Emily, Penelope, and myself had been sequestered and barely had time to think at the BAU, let alone sleep. Lily was jet-lagged from the flight her and Ted had taken to get to Quantico to help us out.

The next morning, Penelope made chocolate chip pancakes and bacon accompanied with fresh fruit and orange juice for the five of us before we had to head to the BAU headquarters. Even though there was still a hit on all of us, we had work to do. Just because there was a serial killer after us didn’t mean we could ignore all the other ones.

The car ride to work was quiet. Even though I had finally gotten some sleep, it still wasn’t enough. My brain was way too tired to carry a conversation, so I stayed silent while the other four women talked quietly amongst one another.

My mind kept going back to the night before. Which Reid was I going to encounter today? Would he pretend that nothing happened and be friendly like he had been the past few days? Or would he continue to be angry at me for reasons yet to be uncovered? 

These questions were answered as soon as I walked into the bullpen. I was greeted by a Morgan, Hotch, and Reid. I gave Reid a small wave which was quickly met by a scowl. 

So, he was still mad.

I decided I wasn’t going to let Reid ruin my day. We had a new case to work on and I was going to put all of my effort into that. If Reid wanted to talk later, we would. But, for now, I had victims to save. Plus, I had my date that evening to worry about.

JJ called everyone into the briefing room where she handed each of us a file as we sat at the table. Even though we were allowed to be back at work, we weren’t allowed out on the field. Our sole purpose at the BAU until Gideon’s killer was caught was to create profilers based off of the information we were given. Then, we would tell local PD who to look for. It was boring, but it was safe.

The day went by quickly with all of us collaborating to come up with a successful profile. Reid rambled off statistics left and right but didn't say much else. The other members of the team didn't think much of it and wrote it off as him being overly tired. But, I could feel tension in the air when he was around. 

By 5:00 PM, we had sent over our profile of the perpetrator to the police who were working the case. Our part was done and it was in their hands.  Hotch dismissed us early and told us to be safe. Penelope squealed once we got out to the parking lot because she knew what time it was. It was time for them to give me a full-blown makeover. 

The car ride back to Penelope’s apartment wasn’t as quiet as the previous one. Emily, JJ, Lily, and Penelope were all talking over one another, trying to come up with the best plan of attack for my outfit for the date with Anderson. I tried to drown out their voices and their shines. I kept catching myself absent-mindedly checking my phone even though I knew I didn’t have any messages. A part of me was wishing Reid would text me.

“We only have two hours to get you ready! So, first things first, it’s hair time!” Penelope’s bubblegum pink shine danced around the apartment as we made our way inside.

JJ pulled up a stool for me and pushed my shoulders down so I would sit. She pulled out hairspray and bobby-pins from her purse and got to work. I giggled slightly at the tickling sensation as she braided and pulled at my hair. In no time, she was done. My hair was half up, half down, with french braids on either side that joined together in the back. The free-flowing parts were loosely curled. It was simple but elegant.

Next was makeup, which Lily did quickly. At this point in our frienship, she knew what I liked and what looked good on me. She told me she was going for a more natural look without any bright eyeshadows because she didn’t want those colors to clash with the heels Penelope was letting me borrow.

Once my hair and face were made up, Emily handed me her black dress. I brought it into the bathroom with me and slipped off my work clothes. I stepped into the dress and, after a few attempts, managed to secure the zipper in the back. 

I stood back from the mirror and looked at my reflection. My hair was curly yet had a soft feeling to it. My makeup didn’t necessarily change my appearance but only enhanced it. And Emily’s dress was plain black yet it was extremely beautiful. It was tight on the top, showing just enough cleavage to look sexy but not enough to look scandalous. The bottom flowed out and fell to the middle of my thighs.

I stepped out of the bathroom and was met by colorful gasps and a round of applause. I blushed profusely as I did a little twirl to show off all side of the dress. Penelope scrambled to her feet and ran into her bedroom. She returned holding a pair of three inch white heels with a neon floral print all over them. 

I slipped them on and caught my balance as the four girls stared at me with wide grins. I felt empowered. Not only because of how beautiful I looked in that moment, but because of how loved and cherished the girls made me feel. 

Emily handed me a small purse that matched the shoes Penelope had given me. She had already stocked it full of the essentials: emergency tampons, mints, extra mascara, and my phone.

I picked up my phone and clicked on my texts. I had no new messages. My heart sunk a little as I locked the screen and threw it back into the bag.


	19. Chapter 19

_And it was all yellow._

 

The short walk to the taxi outside of Penelope’s apartment was difficult. Not only were the heels I was wearing hard to walk in, but my stomach also hurt. I was feeling a mixture of nervousness and sadness. Nervousness because of the somewhat blind date I was about to attend and sadness because it seemed like I had lost the friendship with Reid that I had only recently gained.

Even though I started off hating him, Reid had really started to grow on me. When he wasn’t in one of his Dilaudid-inflicted mood swings, he was actually fun to be around. He was a sweet man deep down and I had been enjoying getting to know that side of him.

But now it seemed like he wanted nothing to do with me. Why? I still had no clue. Maybe he had a problem with Anderson and didn’t approve of me going out with him. Or maybe he just had a problem with me. 

The taxi ride to the restaurant Anderson had decided on was short, which made my stomach hurt even more. I was banking on at least ten minutes in the backseat of the taxi to mentally prepare myself. Unfortunately we pulled up in under five minutes and I was abruptly faced with what I had been dreading.

I was starting to have second thoughts. I had no idea why I had even agreed to this stupid date in the first place. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to disappoint the girls. I really didn’t know anything about this guy other than the fact that he worked at the BAU. For Christ’s sake, I didn’t even know what he looked like.

After a little internal prep talk, I made my way into the restaurant and walked up to the hostess booth. I gave her my name and who I was expecting to dine with and she told me to follow her. She lead me over to a table set for two where a man was already sitting at.

The man had short brown hair and cement blue eyes. He was wearing a white button down shirt and a blue tie. It matched his eyes nicely. 

I looked him up and down, inspecting his features. He looked about my age, maybe a little older. He also seemed put together, like he knew how to properly dress himself. Most importantly, he was quite attractive. 

So this was Grant Anderson. 

“Hi,” I said awkwardly as I sat down across the table from him.

“Hi,” he laughed nervously.

His shine was yellow, which, for some reason, surprised me. I had expected him to have a manlier color such as dark blue or green. it looked familiar but I couldn’t quite place where I had seen it. I needed him to speak more than one word so I could see more of it.

“So, have you been here before?” Anderson asked.

I stared up at the cloud of smoke his words had created and my entire body turned cold. I remembered where I had seen that exact shade of yellow before. It was dark, almost mustardy, and nearly crossed over into the orange spectrum. But it was definitely yellow.

It was burnt yellow.

My mind went whirling back to when I had encountered that shine. It was the day that Strauss had sat us all down and showed us the bullet that had killed Gideon. The bullet had two distinct shines. Gideon’s brown and the killer’s yellow.

His burnt yellow.

I thought back to what Strauss had told us that day. She had lifted the order of protection on us and allowed us to go home, but only if we stuck together. I remembered her exact words when she had warned us.

_“We don’t believe you are in any immediate danger,” Strauss replied._

_“Why’s that?” Emily asked._

_“Because, unlike Jason, none of you will be alone. Our profile of the unsub suggests that he won’t strike unless the victim is secluded and their guard is down.”_

Anderson had taken me away from the protection of my team members and brought my guard down. He had pretended to be interested in me romantically when, in reality, he wanted to kill me. And the entire time he had been hiding in plain sight. Who would have suspected Gideon’s killer to work at the BAU? It was genius, really. 

“I, uh, have to use the bathroom,” I excused myself as I scrambled to my feet.

I darted towards the back of the restaurant and found the women’s restroom. Once inside, I checked under the stalls to make sure no one else was in there and locked the door. 

What was I supposed to do in this situation? I thought about the different scenarios I could choose. I could call the police, but I doubted they would know how to handle it correctly. I could try to take Anderson down on my own, but I didn’t have my gun with me and I wasn’t trained in hand-to-hand combat. Or I could call someone from the BAU and have them call the rest of the team to come rescue me and take him down.. 

Calling someone from the team seemed like the best option. I pulled my phone out of my purse and called the first number I could think of.

“What?” Reid answered angrily.

I sighed in relief at the sound of his voice. Never in my life had I been so relieved to see burgundy smoke swarming around me.


End file.
